Forgotten Enemies

Real nightmares don't finish when waking up.

Forgotten Enemies

 

One day I found myself lying in a field of dark red flowers. The sun shone high in a sky covered only by a handful of tiny clouds and the breeze was soft on my scales, making the crimson flowers wave around with a sweet melody. What the hell is this place?...  I thought as I arched up my neck and yawned, seeing that the field extended all the way to the furthest reaches of my vision. I looked to the left to see the same, and looked to the right to see... MY TAIL!!! I could see my tail!! My visual reach was as wide as before Kansas's attack!!! I jumped and ran and looked around as if I was given eyesight for the very first time. Patrick, I can see again!! I can see!!!   It was when I reached for Patrick and felt he was nowhere near that the situation did a complete turnover.

 

I started then to pay attention to the place I found myself in. I looked around, this time seriously concentrated, and noticed around me there was nothing but the dark red flowers... no hills or trees, bushes, no insects or birds, not a single sign of life but the flowers and myself, without mentioning the air I was breathing, who's voice stopped being pleasuring at all.

 

In another situation, this could have been a wonderful day, but in these terms... I have to find Patrick and get out of this place; I have a bad feeling... I thought, and wasting not a full second, I stood up and stretched, fast paced, opened up my wings and stroke down with all my strengths, creating a burst of wind that bent all the near flowers behind me as I rose to the air and flew straight to the horizon.

 

Patrick!!!...  I yelled with my thoughts, searching for him to the very limits of my reach and roaring as well with all that my lungs could give. How did I get here in the first place!? I searched far and near, looking at the crimson sea I was flying over and called out for Patrick every now and then. But all I managed to accomplish was to hurt my throat until the lowest and tiniest of roars burned more than exhaling fire and getting a f*****g headache.

 

I have to land… at least for a little while to then keep looking for Patrick and the borders of this condemned place.

 

I then slowed my speed and approached the ground, pulled up my head and lowered my body, to then crush the flowers on the ground with my hind legs and then with my claws as I fast paced and walked to a stop, letting out a painful groan. My wings hurt for flying such a long while and it disturbed me that I found nothing, literally nothing.

 

How long have I been doing this? The sun hasn’t moved, the breeze hasn’t stopped for a single second, yet I’m tired… It must have been more than three hours of flight… How can there be a field of flowers so big without a f*****g lake or river to hydrate the land!!? There’s not even a shadow for me to rest under!!

 

Suddenly, in the matter of seconds, the field darkened itself and I looked up, just to see a dark clouded sky that let through only some tiny rays of sunlight. At least I’ll get to drink something if it rains…

 

And a drop hit my right eye… and it burned like hell, it made me shriek so loud as I shook my head and tried to rub it off by brushing my side against the flowers. I rolled and clawed at the ground, trying to make that f*****g acidic thing wear off my eye. A few seconds later it stopped hurting and I opened my eyes, only to notice that my right eye was a goner… again… I was crippled once again… What the f**k is happening!!!? Then it started to rain… It’s acid rain!!...  And I took off once again, only to have to land after a couple of wing strokes, I was still too tired to fly again. Oh no! Oh no!! Patrick!! There was no shelter on sight and it wouldn’t take long before my scales gave in to the acid. I tried to run, but only managed to fast pace for a little while before I had no more energy… I was thirsty, hungry, my throat hurt for all the roaring and my mind ached for all the effort trying to find Patrick… and after all, I accomplished nothing, I got nowhere, and I was going to have a horrible and painful death without even knowing how I got there or why.

 

Everything is going to be ok… it’s alright… I lay down on the ground and curled up, closing my eyes… trying not to break myself… but how could I not without at least something to hold… Patrick might not even be here at all… He must be somewhere else… worried and looking for me… It will end soon… It won’t hurt at all… just… No… no… I can’t die like this! I don’t deserve this!! I care for my friends and family!! I fought for the world for f**k sake!! Why is this happening to me!!?

 

Suddenly I felt a pat on my left shoulder, and it was followed by a soft and tiny voice, like that of a twelve years old girl…

 

-It’s alright, Furia… It’s alright… Everything is going to be fine.

 

I opened my eyes and turned my head, to see this shadowy little girl. Her color wasn’t bound to the darkened environment this cheap wonderland had turned to… no… nor she was dark skinned or something. She looked as if a spot of shadow would have risen from the ground and made itself a solid being. The features of her face had a general form as for what would be those of a girl of that age, but as hard as that… thing… tried to look like a little girl, it just wouldn’t. Its eyes didn’t have pupils; they were plain white and shiny.

 

I jumped away from her and guarded up, mid opened my wings, showed off my fangs and started exhaling black smoke from between my fangs and from my nostrils. What the f**k are you!?

 

The girl then spoke slowly and calmly, unaware of the deadly threat I meant for her…

 

-I am your friend, Furia… everything is going to be alright.

 

How can you read my mind!? Only my rider can! Answer me at this instant!!

 

-I can because I’m part of your mind, Furia.

 

I must be sleeping; this was way too twisted for my comprehension. In end, the rain wasn’t acid at all, just regular water that didn’t hurt a bit when it slid over my wings and the same for the opportune drops that did over my left eye without doing any harm.  I slowly lowered my guard and asked her… What is this place?

 

-Don’t worry, Furia… this is not reality.

 

That’s good to hear…

 

-This is more real than reality.

 

I shook my head in disbelieve of what I actually heard.

 

Wait… what?

 

The shadow girl gestured then at the whole field with her right arm as she said…

 

-Look at the flowers, Furia…

 

I don’t think I should…

 

-Just look at the flowers.

 

I stared at the shadow girl, and she stared back at me, none of us saying a single word. It then seemed that the conversation wouldn’t flow nor she would take those annoying shiny eyes off me until I looked at the f*****g flowers. I grunted and slightly turned my head, keeping the shadow girl in my sight at all moments, and looked at the flowers.

 

What earlier looked like a sea of red wine, now looked like irregular pink moisture. I looked down and then I could see the rain washing off the dark red color from the flowers, slowly leaving them perfectly white. I looked again at the girl and told her… I need you to speak clearly, ok? What is this place and why am I here?

 

-Walk with me.

 

The shadow girl then turned around and started walking… so I did behind her, but in a few seconds I had caught up with her and had her next to me, to the level of my eyes.

 

-This place… -She said-… is a representation of your conscience, not about your conscience in general, but a very specific region. If it was your conscience in general, it would have taken me more than a lifetime to recreate it.

 

You created this? What for?

 

-I had to talk with you, to show you something, more like it.

 

How long is it going to take?

 

-Don’t worry, it won’t take much, but I have to warn you, you won’t wake up until I finish.

 

As much as that seemed a threat, I wasn’t in the mood of testing her or anyone, I just wanted this to finish. I waved my head from one side to the other and carelessly said… Yeah, yeah, yeah… and if I don’t comply or listen to your message, I will be stuck here forever. Got it, now start talking.

 

The torrential rain, replacing the wind for the soundtrack, and the clouds, covering the area from most light, made the perfect scenery for a lesson of philosophy. The girl then exclaimed, almost yelling…

 

-Time, Furia, is the only thing that can wash away the evil we have done to this world… just like the rain did with the flowers.

 

Memories of the many innocent people I have killed started to dance in my mind… specially those of the non-rider raids with the Russian and his group of brainwashed minions. All the screams of pain whenever I flew lowly, exhaling fire at the houses, burning several entire blocks in just one pass. The looks on their faces of those people I snatched from their homes to then be eaten alive without even knowing why. Then the voice of the shadow girl rang over the constant splash of water on the flowers and the ground as she said…

 

-Yet the blood on you, Furia… that one will never wash away.

 

The f**k are you talking about, I stopped shedding blood a long time ago.

 

-And still, time will never wash off the crimson of your scales.

 

There’s nothing to wash off from my scales, that’s my color.

 

The shadow girl started then to laugh, I found it disturbing at the thought that I was talking about blood and my days of killing with a tiny girl. For a little while I let her laugh because I simply didn’t know how to approach her. After finishing her laugh, the shadow girl solidly said…

 

-I knew you would proudly carry the color… Blood Dragon.

 

I told you to speak clearly! What’s that you are calling me?

 

-Blood Dragon, Furia. Yours is the right to choose who lives and who dies. Everywhere you go…

 

I’m not an executioner, if anything a warrior, kid. Now quit your nonsense.

 

-How can you not? Furia “Wings of Liberty”, oh mighty Blood Dragon, when everywhere you go there’s bloodshed. Whatever you do gets stained by pain and death. Whoever you meet is bound to suffering and loss.

 

Kid, I…

 

I didn’t have the time to even make my argument before I remembered how the crazy journey of my life has actually always been under the constant pressure of battle. I wasn’t even a year old before my first killing in self-defense… the first time I left Lubbock, Texas, was to go to Hobbs, in the very same estate, and there I murdered countless people… I traveled to the Bermuda Triangle specifically to fight a world-changing war… Then I traveled to Miami and it gradually went to total chaos. Even though I was forced to, I ended up burning to death and eating innocent people by the hundreds… Even a simple and peaceful sport event turned into a bloodbath who knows why, getting my friends killed and a hundred of innocent spectators either dead or injured… And to finish, I found myself, my Rider and our old friends in the preparation of another journey of manhunting to avenge my fallen friends and the injuries the attackers did to me. Thinking of it, my life had always been cursed.

 

It wasn’t my decision, though. I can assure you that after this trip there won’t be any more bloodshed on my behalf.

 

Suddenly, there was a powerful lightning. It shone completely white and blinded my vision for a moment and I shut my eyes. Right as the thunder came, it was accompanied by the voice of the girl; but this time it was twisted and creepy as f**k. The girl now spoke with double tones, as if she was suddenly possessed by some kind of demon. Boiling with a sudden rage, the girl’s eyes turned black as the rest of her shadowy body and yelled…

 

-It’s not your decision! It’s your destiny!! It’s yours the power to take and to give, and thus is yours the decision to kill and to forgive!! And listen to what I tell you… no one deserves to live!!

 

Shut up and get me out of here!

 

The girl then generated a knife out of her hand, as if she was a Vital Energy user. I jumped away from her and guarded up, threatening her… Don’t try a thing! I’ll burn you to death!!... The girl stepped at me and waved the knife in front of her, saying…

 

-Do it.

 

Another lightning illuminated the area ever so suddenly; it caught me off-guard, blinding my vision for a moment. When I opened my eyes and saw the girl charging at me with the knife over her head and aiming downwards. I quickly opened up my wings and flapped down with a swift movement, taking myself off the ground, to then land a few meters away from her. The thunder roared and then I did as I exclaimed at the girl…

 

I’m not going to kill you!! Quit your s**t and get me out of here!!

 

-Never!!

 

I jumped back and dodged her lunge. The shadow girl swung down the shadowy knife to a fail and looked over her shoulder, having me again on her sights. Another lightning came down, this time behind me, as the girl turned around and then I could clearly see her ear-to-ear smile. She didn’t have teeth, instead, there shone sharp and pointed white fangs and from her mouth flowed out a constant stream of blood.

 

What the f**k are you!?

 

She didn’t charge this time, the shadow girl just opened her arms and exclaimed with her double toned voice…

 

-I am your friend, Blood Dragon!! I am what you are ashamed to show!! I am what have kept you alive all this time and all that you have gone through!! I am the one feeling of yours that you should not forsake!! And when I say it’s time to kill… IT’S TIME TO F*****G KILL!!

 

The girl then stabbed her own belly… What the f**k are you doing!!?... and pulled the knife up, cutting open all the way up to her chest… her inners coming out and splashing on the ground as if she wasn’t a shadow on the inside. I stepped away from her as she started to grab her intestines and gripped them around her neck; all of this twisted show ran as she laughed maniacally. At a moment, she looked straight at my eye and said…

 

-I’ll make you kill until you do it just for the sake of f*****g a corpse!!!

 

The shadow girl then started to pull tight the intestines around her neck, choking herself with her own inners. She started to cough and to do random twists and turns while I slowly stepped away. If this is my consciousness, then I must be losing my mind…. I then turned around, opening my wings to take flight when my eyes snapped wide open, more than they should be. The pain was sharp and intense on my lower back and my legs stopped working. I collapsed to the ground shrieking and clawing at the ground; I tried to flap my wings to get out of there but only managed to hurt myself more. Groaning and breathing hard, I slowly turned my head to the left, feeling each heartbeat, my whole body shivering with each pump and sending a piercing wave of pain from my lower back to the rest of my body… but for some reason, except to my hind legs and tail.

 

When I saw my back, my stomach revolted as if to throw up whatever food there was in it. There was a black spike coming out of the perfect middle of my lower back, between my legs. My tail was twitching like a headless chicken on the ground and it looked as if it would actually twitch away if it wasn’t still attached to my body. And my legs, the same as my tail, I couldn’t feel them, I tried to stand up, but it felt as if I moved some phantom legs instead; mine just were there, dropped on the ground as if not mine.

 

Suddenly, a bunch of shadow kids, like half a dozen, a mixture of boys and girls, all of them with ear-to-ear smiles of sharp fangs approached by my back as they generated black smoky axes so big to their size it looked they wouldn’t be capable of lifting them, but they did… and with terrifying ease. They got near my hind legs and swung back over their heads their gigantic axes.

 

What the f**k are you doing!? Just go away, you freaks!!.... They then swung their axes forward with increasing speed…  Wait, no!! NOOO!! PLEASE!!!

 

I shut my eyes and turned my head forward with a long acute shriek. Each of the impacts on my legs was numb to my nerves, I couldn’t feel a thing, yet they shook my body around the spike with their chopping on my legs. The meaty, juicy sound of my legs being cut off while I was conscious summed to the waves of pain the impacts of the gigantic axes sent to the rest of my body didn’t give me a single complete second to try telling myself this wasn’t real; not even to breath in, cry after cry, roaring and groaning my lungs out and clawing at the ground, trying to block at least an unworthy to mention small amount of pain.

 

And at a moment they stopped, I waited for a next strike… Is it over?… is it truly over?... Please answer me… but there were no more. My breathing was hard and my throat burn awfully. The shadow kids didn’t answer me, they just stayed behind me doing I don’t care what, as long as they didn’t hurt me. I could just hear them manipulating something I started to have an idea of what it would be. But just because of instinctive itching curiosity I started to turn back my head over my left side, scared of what I would see, but I had to do it… I had to, even when I knew I would regret turning my head back. My muscles were shaky; my nerves were sharp as I heard the kids laughing lowly… and suddenly, without even being ready to see what was happening, despite the fact that I actually had an idea of what I would see…

 

I turned back to look forward with a long howl…NOO!... Why are you doing this!? What do you f*****g want!?.... and shut my eyes, pressing my jaws against each other and my heart racing. The kids all carried my legs by my left side, so I would see them both cut off, chopped away from my body. I also saw a bone coming out of my hip and the meat, muscles and broken scales irregularly cut around it. My belly rested on the ground as I slowly clawed at the ground… I should be bleeding out… I should be dead, already! Why can’t I wake up!!?.... Then one of them said; this time a male shadow kid with its high pitched and annoying young voice…

 

-This is not a dream to wake up from, Furia. This is more real than reality.

 

And then a shadow girl spoke, I could hear her right in front of me.

 

-Open your eyes, Furia.

 

I didn’t need to see whatever they wanted me to see for me to be already expressing the darkest of rages; I could feel the drops of rain sliding on my exposed fangs and my mouth heating up due to the flow of smoke. I then slowly opened my eyes, what was in front of me slowly getting clearer and clearer… And then there were them… my legs stacked one on the other. The meat and bones cut carelessly and still dropping blood every couple of seconds. I then roared as I told them… You sick f***s!! What’s wrong with you!!? What’s the point of this!!?

 

Then they started to speak randomly, each of them right after the last one to talk.

 

-The point is pretty simple, Furia.

 

-The point is just killing.

 

-You are the one who is making things difficult.

 

-Just go ahead and kill us.

 

-As simple as that.

 

-All you have to do is just…

 

I exhaled a puff of smoke at the same time I interrupted them, a serious way of meaning offense among dragons… F**k you all, then, if you think you can break me!! What you want is to make me kill you, huh?  Well, I won't!! As much as I would enjoy burning you up to ashes, I won't harm a hair of yours!! I WON'T DO ANYTHING YOU DARE ASK ME!!!!

 

They all then started to laugh within themselves, and a lightning flashed their faces, revealing their smiles of needle like fangs. One of them then spoke, a male one, its double toned voice ringing gravely right after the thunder.

 

-Open your mouth.

 

F**k you.

 

Sharp waves of pain born on the right side of my head, making me turn completely and with a grunt, as if my side had been hit by a gigantic punch. The oily taste of blood flooded my mouth accompanied by a few pointed objects that punctured my tongue and gums. As a very high pitched whistle rang in my brain, I coughed up what seemed to be my own fangs, painted red on my own blood. I drove my tongue to my side and felt the window where my fallen fangs should be.

 

-Look, Furia,  -Said again the shadow kid, this time with a normal kid's voice.-... if I want to saw off your tongue with a big enough rusty circular saw blade to damage the roof of your mouth as well, you have to cooperate, don't you think? Or you can just kill us, of course.

 

Was this happening for real? This... beings, whatever the hell they were, they did wanted me to kill them. What for? What did they mean with "more real than reality"? I turned my head back to them, saying...

 

I told you I won’t…

 

And I just couldn’t talk as a sudden wave of pain raced once again through my whole body. I pressed my jaws against each other as I grunted and cried while I felt something piercing through and coming out by my back right where the chest stops being chest and becomes belly. Just the very intend of breathing sent sharp stabs through my nerves that made me unable to even endure the pain, nor it gave me a gap to concentrate. It was just constant, continual and never ending pain. Then I heard the kid’s voice, this time speaking in double tones…

 

-This won’t have a happy ending, Furia. It is you and only you who can stop us from hurting you… and it seems you won’t… But regardless of that… there will always be death.

 

I opened my eyes and the kids I could see, the ones in front of me and by my left side, they generated smoky instruments and weapons… one of them had a pick axe, another one had a gigantic saw, and so forth… who knows what had created the ones I couldn’t see on my right side. And then they started to walk towards me as a lightning struck right behind them… the thunder muffling my weak defiant roar.

 

An eternal field of white flowers where one could run until exhaustion without escaping its beautifulness… with rain clouds that eventually faded away and whitened to cover just tiny spots on the sky and giving room to a shiny yellow sun as a soft breeze made the flowers dance to the music of dull cries of agony from a helpless dragon. The slow and calmed dance of the flowers continued on and on and the music never stopped as the ground they grew from was covered by a thin layer of crimson liquid.

 

I was still… too still… I couldn’t feel anything… which was good… but it was literal that I couldn’t feel a thing… I wasn’t breathing… nor could I feel the ground below me… I opened my eyes… and there was nothing to be identified… too blurry and numb… only spots… black spots moving around… dancing… waving their arms and singing with muffled high pitched voices… back and forth around a… way bigger than them… dark red spot.

 

My eyes snapped open as I gasped for air, but it wasn’t coming in. My chest… it hurt horribly, and I could barely feel my heartbeat. I rolled on the ground, not caring about breaking my wings… I tried to roar, I clawed at the ground, I even tried to exhale fire, but not even that… it seemed there was nothing else for me to do but surviving it.

 

Suddenly I felt I would spit my inners… my stomach pushed so hard up I swear I felt it was going to replace my heart… and then it all came out… chunks of undigested meat and bones from my last kill splashed on the ground as my throat burned and curiously my stomach began to feel better and I started to breathe. But I wasn’t safe yet… I looked around frantically and saw some trees around me, there was some landscape far to the city which allowed all the tiny lights to be seen from here… It was a known place, but it wasn’t safe yet…

 

-Furia!

 

I turned rightwards to the source of the voice, I finally heard that voice. Tripping on myself I finally managed to turn enough to see Patrick standing around a dozen meters away from me. I couldn’t hold a roar of joy… Patrick!!!...  as I fast paced towards him. At the second I reached him, I dropped to the ground and pushed him with the tip of my snout.

 

-Furia, calm down!! You are going to crush me!!

 

They killed me, Patrick!! They killed me!!

 

At the moment I stopped, Patrick walked to the left side of my head and hugged me in front of my eye, so I could see him, protecting me. My respiration was still hard and I looked at Patrick straight to his eyes without even blinking. Patting me, Patrick said…

 

-No one is going to hurt you, Furia; not on my watch. It was just a nightmare, whatever happened, it wasn’t real.

 

It hurt, Patrick!! It hurt a lot!! They stabbed me, ripped my scales off from root, and even decapitated me!!!..... I said finishing with a long howl like roar.

 

-You are awake now, Furia. You are home and safe; no one is going to hurt you here.

 

Then some images started to flow in my mind… water surrounded me and flowed past me as I swam fast to the surface. The water then slowly lost its grip on me as I stroke hard with my wings, climbing to the air as I looked back at the crystal clear water. I saw Patrick too, taking a deep breath and laughing as I roared too. I then turned my sights up and flew over a beautiful beach of golden toned sand by a hiding sun.

 

-You remember that, Furia?

 

Before the battle… The Bermuda Triangle…

 

I then heard Patrick’s voice in my mind…

 

You remember how much you wanted to go to the beach before that? The war didn’t matter to you when you first dived in. You loved the beach. Tell me where else you want to travel.

 

Nowhere near fields of flowers!! NO FLOWERS!!

 

No flowers, Furia; there won’t be a single flower... Want to talk about your nightmare?... It might help you relax.

 

I sighed, looking away at the trees bathed in moonlight… and then at the moon. We lived at the outskirts, so there wasn’t much light pollution; one could see each star in the night sky, all of them so bright and proud looking upon the living with wise eyes given to them by the experience of their long lives up there.

 

There was this field… a field of flowers… endless… and then these kids appeared… they hurt me… they wanted me to… wait a second…

 

It was a sudden moment of clarity… no fear… no confusion… no nothing… just the blank realization that… I didn’t kill them…

 

I raised my head from the ground, looking forward as the idea heated up in my mind, gaining strength. And that’s good, right?... Asked Patrick, who just a second later jumped away from me as I jumped forward and laughed, my joy could not be held, I jumped from point to point roaming the whole clearing we were in and screaming in my thoughts… I didn’t kill them!! I didn’t kill them!! I didn’t kill them!!... And at the end, I landed to a stop and stood on my hind legs, opening my wings completely and roaring with all my strengths to the sky, startling all the nearby sleeping birds… I WON!!!

 

Patrick just looked at me, ever so confused, he awkwardly smiled and said… I’m glad for you, Furia. I… what are we celebrating?.... I then landed on all fours and laughed, remembering all what those sick shadow kids had done to make me kill them, all without the slightest success. Oh, Patrick… I’m sorry… I couldn’t talk fluently while still laughing within myself… This is just so amazing… There were these shadows on my dream…

 

Wait, shadows?..... Patrick then walked towards me and placed his right hand on my forearm as I closed my wings… Like the ones I saw in Miami?

 

Far worse, Pat! These ones had needle like fangs and were twelve years old kids, and they were strong like hell. One of them hit my mouth and broke four of my fangs.

 

I could see the horror in Patrick's face, his eyes wide open as he said with a trembling voice... Do you think it could be...

 

The Mind Poison?.... I interrupted Patrick....  Nah, and if it was, I'm totally sure I defeated it, I didn't do what it wanted me to do.

 

Patrick smiled and pat my side as he pressed his forehead against me. You are far stronger than me. I'm proud of you.

 

Oh stop it, Pat, you flatter me. Let's talk of something else, like... where were you? I didn't see you when I woke up.

 

Patrick then walked away and said... Come, you've got to see this.

 

I stood up to all fours, stretching, and walked next to Patrick who spoke with a very vivid voice, a sudden change of atmosphere...

 

Remember the first time I used Vital Energy?

 

Torture me if I dare forget that.

 

When I punched Clyde and he used the baton as a shield, my fist covered itself in smoke and broke the wood through… nothing to do with "Materialization". I have more than three hours trying to recreate it, and in the end I did!

 

Then it appeared for me, lying on the ground, there was a legless grown cow. And best of all... more likely the worst of all, due to the gruesomeness of the scene... was that it was alive, its breathing bending the grass in front of it.

 

What the f**k, Patrick…

 

Don’t worry, I’ll give her a quick death, you can have it then. Now, I studied this new form of using Vital Energy enough to go for field practice, good thing you are here to watch this.

 

Patrick then kneeled beside the cow’s head and it began to twitch and move its stumps, making as much noise as it could. Patrick calmed the cow down and then he placed his right fist against its head… then he said…

 

Tell me, Furia, what would happen if I punched the cow’s tough skull with my tiny fist?

 

One of the two is going to break and you won’t be happy to know which one.

 

Patrick smiled as his eyes sharpened like a predator’s and said… The first statement is true.

 

And then a thin cloud of dark red smoke began to engulf Patrick’s fist, and with a swift movement he craned back his arm and punched the cows head. Blood splashed at his clothes to the sound of a single meaty crack as the cow twitched one last time. Patrick’s hand ended up in a cavity filled with brains as blood poured out. He then got his hand out and whipped it at the ground, spraying at the grass the excess of blood on his hand.

 

I could just stare at the scene… I mean… Patrick just covered his fist on armor!! And with his hands closed!!! Everything I understood of Vital Energy was then broken and left without sense.

 

Amazing, huh?  -He said, flaunting his new ability.

 

How did you…?

 

And now watch this…

 

Patrick then stood up and walked away from me like four meters. He turned and faced me, looking straight at my eye, to then place his open palms facing each other as if he were to applaud... then he said… This is the sound of a regular applause… and then he softly clapped his hands, creating a tiny “pop”… And this… he said as his hands started emanating crimson smoke… is its sound when I power my hands with Vital Energy… His hands then moved against each other at the same speed as before, but when they crashed they exploded stronger than any applause I have ever heard, reaching the sound of a tiny explosive.

 

Then, not a second after, Patrick said with wide open eyes, delighted by my astonishment…

 

And what if I power it more?

 

And then he clapped his hands with the same soft speed, but when his hands clashed, they resembled the detonation of a shotgun… and on top of that, a soft current of wind rushed against me just a moment later.

 

A shockwave…  I lowly muttered in Patrick’s mind.

 

That’s right, Furia… I can use Vital Energy not only for weapon materialization, but as Pulse Energy as well.

 

And, is it directed or… a regular explosion?

 

Kind of both… Patrick said, dissipating the energy in his hands and walking towards me as he wiped his hands on his clothes… I guess it can be directed, but for now I don’t know how to. I felt too the shockwave, and it occurs to me that if I do it with enough energy, I can actually blow myself up.

 

Then he got to my left arm and I lowered myself and helped him climb up to my back as I said…

 

Good thing you didn’t discover THAT by accident.

 

Adjusting his posture on my back, Patrick laughed and said… Can you imagine it? Like… BAM!! And… and the Dragon Society… Well… Now what?

 

Laughing our lungs out and joking on the matter, I walked to another clearing to get some sleep back. After saying “good night” to Patrick, I let my thoughts drift away into the darkness to hopefully wake up sane the next morning. Although it all ended up some kind of well, it was uneasy for me to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, and let a couple of seconds pass, the sea of dark red flowers always materialized itself in front of me. It took me several minutes to finally fall asleep by taking my thoughts in another direction…

 

Furia…

 

Huh?

 

I lifted my head from the ground and my breathing stopped, I swear my heart skipped a beat when I saw the f*****g dark red flowers all around me again… Nononononononononono… What the f**k is this s**t!!... I exclaimed with a strong roar as I got up and guarded up in the instant.

 

Furia…

 

It was Patrick’s voice. I looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen…

 

Patrick? Patrick, where are you!?

 

Furia…

 

The shadow girl choking herself with her own inners, my chopped off legs being pulled in front of me by some other shadow kids, every last sharp wave of pain the b******s inflicted in me... all of it danced in my mind when suddenly, I opened my eyes and the sunlight blinded me. I stood up and shook myself as a shout quickly born by my side, followed by a solid thud on the grass and a groan. I jumped away and turned to have the source of the sound in front of me. It was just Patrick, rubbing his shoulder as he pushed himself sit on the ground.

 

-Ahh… Furia, what the…? Are you ok?

 

I arched back my neck as I exclaimed… Patrick!?... I shook my head and then asked him… Were… were you calling me?

 

Yeah… -He said as he started to stand up.

 

What the f**k for?

 

I wanted to go train with Vital Energy, but didn’t want you to wake up alone… you know… after your nightmare last night. Did it haunt you again?

 

I looked around to see the area was barely illuminated and there wasn’t even sun in the sky. I looked back at Patrick as I thought for myself… Why would Patrick’s voice bring such memories into my dreams?... Then I reached for his mind and told him… Wait a moment… what did you say you were going to do just now?

 

Train… With Vital Energy… you can rest some more if you want. Just wanted you to know I was going to be gone.

 

Patrick spoke as I continued thinking for myself… Last night’s nightmare started when Patrick experimented with the new way of using Vital Energy… and this one… it sort of happened for the same thing… Could I be sensing Patrick’s murderous intent? Since we are doing all this to kill Kansas’s attackers… But that’s preposterous! I have always been capable of feeling Patrick’s instincts! This is the first time they affect me like… Oh s**t…

 

Unable to control my expression, I widened my eyes and stared at Patrick straight into his eyes as I felt a sharp coldness running through my whole body. Then he said with his thoughts…

 

Wow Furia, What’s going on? Are you hallucinating or something? You seem like you just saw a ghost! You must tell me what’s going on with you!

 

With a broken and unsettled voice, unable to hide my panic I said…

 

No!... I mean… I’m ok, Pat… for real… just kind of… pumped up by last night… I had never seen something like what I saw in that… dream. I’ll just go hang out with the others. So… don’t worry about me… is like you said, right? Once this is all over we’ll be ok… I’ll be ok. You go training, I’ll be alright.

 

Patrick drove his lip to the side with a grunt and waited for a second before saying…

 

You are acting weird, Furia, I’ll tell you that first… I know this whole thing is unsettling for you, so please, if anything is bothering you, anything, please tell me. We are a team, right?

 

We are a team Patrick, and you know I would tell you anything that bothered me. Right now I am ok, so go train; I’ll go find the others.

 

Alright, then… Patrick then started walking toward me as I thought for myself…

 

What the f**k should I do now!? Come on, he’s just going to say goodbye, I’ll just lower my head and let him pat me. Oh s**t… Why is this s**t happening!!? This should be over already!!

 

Patrick patted the side of my head and said… See ya later.

 

See ya.

 

Then, he finally turned around and walked away. I then turned around too, fast paced a couple of steps, and then jumped as I opened my wings and stroke hard in a flowed move. When I reached some altitude, I roared the loudest I could and searched the lands frantically. It was a moment later that I heard another roar, I looked at the direction it came from and saw Tyranis. The green dragon was standing on her rear legs and had her wings fully open so that I could see her easily. I leaned hard and dived at where she was. I glided and landed next to her as she went back down to stand on all fours and closed her wings as she faced me. It didn’t pass the first second before Tyranis exclaimed…

 

Wow, Furia, what’s going on? You look like just saw the Chupacabra or something.

 

Oliver was there too, he stood up and approached me as he said… -Furia, what’s wrong? Where’s Patrick?

 

Tyranis, where’s Helios and Alan? And Elvis and Pyro; we need to gather them up right now!

 

Ok, but what’s going on?... inquired the dragon.

 

I’ll tell you once we are all gathered.

 

Tyranis nodded without questioning me further, and leaned her head toward Oliver, who picked up his cellphone from his pocket and called the other two riders. In the meanwhile, I breathed slowly and deeply to calm myself. If I was going to talk with the others, I didn’t want the whole gang to see me all freaked out. In a matter of a minute, Helios and Pyro landed next to us and greeted us as Alan and Elvis unstrapped from their dragons’ saddles and jumped to the ground. They asked me again if I was ok and where was Patrick, so I started straight and without rodeos.

 

The Mind Poison, I think it’s still alive in Patrick’s mind.

 

The dragons stared at me astonished, as if the words I just uttered were simply incomprehensible. It was Tyranis who spoke after a couple of seconds…

 

Wait Furia, didn’t Alessio cure Patrick?

 

At what Helios intervened with… The mistakes… the reason why Patrick ended up in a coma… he might not cured the entire…

 

Elvis, who heard what I said through his dragon, took the word and loudly said…

 

-Hold on a second Furia! Do you know what saying this implies? We can’t just hand Patrick for another mind f**k again, are you really sure it’s the Mind Poison that you are talking about?

 

Then I started the story… Last night I had a nightmare… this bunch of shadow kids appeared out of nowhere and tortured me… they said they would stop if I started killing them, which I didn’t do. When I woke up, Patrick showed me some new way of using Vital Energy, and he was about to try it on a living cow that he had severed its legs in order to do the experiment. I’ll tell you later the nature of this new… technique. Then we went back to sleep and I saw the same twisted s**t before waking up again to see Patrick was going to train again. There’s something messing up with Patrick’s mind that makes him so eager toward murder… and it’s affecting me… it’s not just revenge desire… That something is the Mind Poison.

 

Alan crossed his arms and rubbed his chin with one hand as he said…

 

-Now the question is… -And Helios, his dragon, continued-… Why hasn’t Patrick started killing anyone?

 

Pyro then answered to the idea…

 

Directed maybe? Like it will only head towards someone Patrick wants to kill?

 

That’s what I think… I said…

 

Oliver then was the one to ask… -What about when Patrick finds and kills all of the targets? He won’t be directed anymore; what then?

 

-We have to call Rider Francesco Silvestro for this… -Established Alan.

 

Oliver dialed the number and in short time the old man picked the phone…

 

-Good morning?

 

-Rider Francesco Silvestro, this is Oliver Barton, you are in loudspeaker with Alan Barton, Elvis Darst, our dragons and Furia. Patrick is training right now and we have some questions we want to ask you about him.

 

-Greetings Riders, I’m glad to hear you are still solid as a group… -Answered Francesco-… but what can I know about Patrick more than what he has told me himself?

 

-It’s about the Mind Poison… -Stated Elvis-… We have reasons to believe it’s still alive in Patrick’s mind.

 

Then the old man said, in a much more serious tone…

 

-Tell me those reasons.

 

Alan, Elvis and Oliver then proceeded to tell Francesco about what I just told them. Each of them complementing the details as the telling drifted slowly until the end. At what Francesco answered…

 

-So… Furia… the poison… -Emphasizing on the next word-… “forces” you, right?

 

I nodded; Elvis answered “yes” to the old man and this one continued…

 

-While Patrick puts even his own life at stake in the matter of just engaging the enemy.

 

-Not only his… -Corrected Elvis-… he’s going to turn this into a big scale war; he’s going not only for the responsible of hurting Furia, he’s going for the very top of the organization.

 

Francesco continued making questions…

 

-And how does Patrick feels about what he’s planning? He thinks he’s doing the right thing? He thinks this is bothersome but that it has to be done?

 

At the second, everyone turned to me. I then told Pyro…

 

He feels it’s necessary, more than right; he says that no one will mess with us again after this.

 

Elvis replayed the message to Francesco. And Oliver then intervened and asked…

 

-Can’t Alessio try to cure Patrick again?

 

-Mmmmmm… I’ll give that to Patrick… -Answered Francesco-… in that matter it really is necessary to be done. That means whatever is left of the Mind Poison is deep into Patrick’s sub-consciousness… it’s just influential. And Rider Oliver, there’s no point in Alessio trying to heal him again, since he left those parts untouched and damaged some others instead, due to his lack of experience in the matter. Although Alessio has grown more experienced in this last year, Patrick’s mind has just recovered enough to wake him up, it still have to compose the damaged parts, which takes long time. A new intrusion, even with the purpose of healing him might be much worse. This time that option is undeniably beyond consideration.

 

-So we let Patrick kill his target?... �"Alan suggested.

 

-Have you tried reasoning with Patrick?... �"Once again asked Francesco while I thought for myself… How deceitful can this Mind Poison be? Well, to think of accessing and controlling someone’s mind and what could be done in there… geez the possibilities could be endless!

 

-Furia has… -Answered Elvis.

 

-He even was harsh on Furia to keep this thing going… -Added Oliver.

 

-I see… -Said the experienced rider-… Stopping Patrick is not an option… yet not doing something will just allow Patrick to get used to go hunt after hunt until it gets him, or Furia, or both killed… I say, riders, you don’t stop Patrick from killing his target, just don’t give him the chance to do it.

 

-You mean… -Started Elvis.

 

-We kill the target… -Concluded Alan.

 

-But… the outcome of it?... �"Said Oliver-… Patrick is obsessed with killing… if we just take that away from him… he might…

 

-Yes, riders, Patrick might end up worse; probably the rage brought by that action might end up bringing the Mind Poison to its earlier form before the coma. It might as well make the Mind Poison collapse due to said unexpected event and Patrick might be capable of holding his urges for hunting once retired for good.

 

-This is more a bet than a plan… -Said Elvis, frowning at the phone-… If he goes mad on the spot we’ll have to use force immediately as well.

 

-We can carry Taser Pistols with us at all times without Patrick knowing it… -Stated Alan.

 

I suddenly roared, stopped the conversation from getting any further in this direction and made myself be heard by everyone… Wait… is that it? Are we going to conspire against Patrick? This is like betrayal! We should at least talk this matter out with him.

 

Elvis made the message reach Francesco and this one answered…

 

-I can understand how you feel Furia, but sadly that’s not an option. For the Mind Poison might influence him to act in other ways to defend itself. I’m afraid this is the only way.

 

I grunted and looked down, thinking for myself… There must be something wrong with that plan! It can’t end just being a gamble! I wouldn’t gamble Patrick’s life like that… but… if not that way… it might also end once and for all… or it might just lead up to another hunt… and another one… and another one until we die… S**t!!

 

I sighed and said… I think… I guess that makes sense.

 

-It all is in your hands and claws now, dragons and riders.

 

Wait… I said to all dragons, letting out a low roar as well… There’s more to it rather than just Patrick’s Mind Poison. He discovered this new ability he called Pulse Energy; it’s like another way of using Vital Energy, but it’s more like creating explosions with his hands and coating them with Vital Energy to protect himself.

 

Alan was the one this time to speak up my message for Francesco to hear. The old man then answered, noticeably upset…

 

-Wishing for you to be kidding, “Wings of Liberty”, is just a waste of time…

 

-What? Why? What’s wrong with that?... �"Asked Elvis.

 

-Along with the Rider’s “Open Mind” ability, which is the name of what can allow an individual with specific interests to develop a Mind Poison and infect other people with it; there was another ability that my lineage decided the new world should grow without the knowledge of its existence. We call it: “Walled Energy”. Like Furia said, one of the ways of using it is releasing Vital Energy in such a short time, like an instant, that the energy would spread away with nothing but destruction power, damaging whatever near enough. Many riders died dealing with it, trying to master it back in the day, while those who managed to master it and had both enough energy and ill will were called “Human Hurricanes” for their hobbies of exploding the towns they visited.

 

Oliver then exclaimed… -Patrick is going mad and knows about that!!? No place will be able to hold him if this goes bad!!

 

I stepped toward Oliver and roared loud and vigorously at him as I yelled… You will not kill Patrick!!... Alan and Elvis, blocking their ears and stepping back in the instant while the dragons all got startled and arched up their necks in attention. None of you will dare kill Patrick!!!... I exclaimed again as my eyes drifted around and met those of every dragon and rider in the gathering, every one of them able to see all of my curved white fangs.

 

A couple of seconds later I lowered my sights slowly until I could see my claws dug in the ground, as if readying for a charge. I softened my grip of the dirt and muttered with a grave hum… I just got my Rider back…

 

-Wait, Furia… -Said Oliver, I tilted up my sight a little to look at him-… what I meant, ah!

 

Just apologize!!... Tyranis scowled, as she not only touched, but hit Oliver’s mind. The rider looked at her and then towards me, lowering his sights after just a moment of making eye contact with me. He looked at my eye again and instantly back down before saying…

 

-I… sorry, Furia… I’m really sorry.

 

It’s ok, Oliver. It doesn’t take a brilliant mind to know it might get down to that… I said, a crushing pressure in my chest almost preventing me from breathing. Then I raised my sight and met everyone’s eyes as I said…  But I don’t want to hear any of you talking about dealing with that scenario. If it comes to that, I’ll deal with Patrick myself… so no more comments on the matter.

 

A couple of seconds passed where every single one of us stayed in silence. I looked down and scratched the dirt with my claws as I thought for myself… No one will harm my rider… Patrick may be going nuts, but he’s still my rider!... Suddenly the loudspeaker spoke, breaking the silence…

 

-You should have known by now, riders, how stubborn and over-caring dragons are when it comes to their riders. No matter how close you might be to someone else’s dragon, even if you are close to that someone, you always avoid certain comments that might pose a threat, even if it’s indirectly, and especially if the rider isn’t present. It’s a good thing for your luck, Rider Oliver, that Furia had passed that time riderless. If you had said that about my person and in front of my dragon, you simply wouldn’t be alive… that going to every single dragon who hasn’t gone through Furia’s experience. I hope this serves you as a lesson to you all, since you are so close, any of you can commit the same equivocation due to trust.

 

-Sorry, guys… Furia, I’m sorry… -Said Oliver-… I’ll think up first the stuff I’m about to say.

 

-Still… -Said the loudspeaker-… Rider Oliver’s insulting comment is nowhere near being foolish. Rider Patrick is the second strongest Rider in the world, being the first myself. No one will be able to contain him if he goes out of control and the threat he will pose to every single person and dragon around him is too great to ignore. Should the worst outcome take place, Wings of Liberty, you and Rider Patrick will come to the Bermuda Triangle to protect the world from Patrick’s wrath.

 

What? To the island? For how long?

 

The message was replayed out loud by Elvis and Francesco answered…

 

-The time necessary for Rider Patrick to be back to himself. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I'll start the preparations as soon as this conversation reaches its finale. I'll have a ship ready for you at a port. Should Rider Patrick fall again, make the word reach me and I’ll tell you where to go. You take him there right away, no second to be lost.

 

-Won't it be worse?... -Intervened Alan-... That's where Patrick's first great battle took place. What if his memories affect him?

 

-It is as well... -Answered the loudspeaker-... The first place Rider Patrick ever felt closure. That memory is all we have to counter the Mind Poison. It's the only way I can think of to deal with Rider Patrick's actual situation... and then again, it might not even come down to that.

 

I understand... I said lowly, dragons and riders looking at me in a single synchronized motion... It's not the first time Patrick would be a public danger... not even the first for me either... Remembering that time when I had to kill hundreds of innocent non-riders under Gedeon's command, the same guy who poisoned Patrick's mind... If that's the only way to prevent further bloodshed... so be it then.

 

A couple of seconds passed before Elvis's gray dragon, Pyro, my brother for our riders' family connection, leaned closer to me and asked... Furia, are you sure about this? There could...

 

I interrupted him and shook my head and looked straight at his eyes... Not from this one, Pyro. I'm sure.

 

He gave me then nothing more than a nod and Elvis told Francesco my consent toward the plan. Then the loudspeaker said...

 

-You are strong, "Wings of Liberty", if Patrick is just half as you are, this will be no more than a waste of resources.

 

Francesco told us about the other part of the “Walled Energy”, where a rider pretty much coats himself with Vital Energy to be nearly impossible to hurt, only possible, of course, by a stronger Vital Energy user. There was not much to say afterwards, pretty much nothing important actually, so, we bid farewell to Francesco, ended the call and I parted ways from the group. Normally I would stick with Tyranis and Helios for the rest of the day, but… it kind of felt like the days around my rider were counted.

 

I was flying over the lands when I saw Patrick, training with the Walled Energy technique. He was punching and kicking a tree over and over as chips flew all around the area. I leaned hard and dived toward where he was, pulled up quickly near the ground and stopped my flight with a couple of wing strokes forward as I bent the grass with waves of wind. I hit the ground and flexed my legs, to then slowly pace toward Patrick.

 

My rider turned around, he used the sleeve of his soaked wet shirt to wipe his face from the sweat drops that ran from his forehead to his chin and started walking toward me.

 

Hey, Furia, I thought you’d be with Tyranis and Helios. Didn’t you find them? He said with a gentle touch of his mind.

 

They are hanging out somewhere, I don’t know. Well, care to go for a flight?

 

Patrick looked over his shoulder at the obliterated trunk of the tree he was attacking, and then he turned back to me and said… Sure, and we can try out the new gear.

 

I’ve never felt such warmness in my heart. As Patrick climbed to my back and as I walked toward the house, I thought for myself… This is my rider. He’d go with me for a simple fly even at times like this and in his conditions. He’ll defeat the Mind Poising for good. It’ll all go well in the end… it’ll be just me and my rider.

 

Patrick and I then soared through the sky like if it was our first time in the air. We did maneuvers, tricks, sprints, dives, drills, falls... anything that would pop into our minds. A while later I accompanied Patrick with his training on Walled Energy until we had lunch. This is my rider… and he’ll win this last battle.