by Aravanna » Jul 14, 2012 10:02 pm
Erica woke up with an effort. It seemed to take a long time for her to break free from the nightmare that she’d been having. Except it wasn’t a nightmare. Eric was really dead. And… that’s right, Erica was back on earth. Val had teleported them both for some reason and that act, that the little dragon had done seamlessly a hundred times before, had felt all wrong.
“Okay, we have to get back. I’m running from my fears… or something. Val?” The room was quiet and very dark since Alex always relied on heavy shades to hide his secrets. Her eyes felt sticky from falling asleep while crying. Rubbing them, she stumbled towards the light switch. It took a long time to find it. When the light finally went on, Erica felt blind for a second, then Erica’s eyes adjusted and there was the small room with its unmade bed.
“Val, where are you?” Oh, there she was, still curled up tightly at the head of the bed. Erica walked over to her and picked the little dragon up. She let out a scream and dropped the body. It was cold and stiff. Val didn’t bend or shift in Erica’s hands. She was like a snake… except even snakes’ bodies didn’t lie upside down in the same position like that on the bed.
Erica touched her friend again with shaking hands and righted her. “No, no, come on Val! Don’t, don’t, come on! Please don’t do this to me.” I’m having a meltdown, or a dream, Erica thought to herself. If I just stay calm it will be all right. It’s going to be fine. Val’s fine too.
The thread of her thoughts repeated for a long time, but nothing changed. Val didn’t move. Erica picked her up and held her close, trying to return warmth to the cold body that no longer needed it. Suddenly she heard a slight pop behind her. It was the sound Val always made when she teleported. She whirled around. But Val was still in her arms, instead, it was Mystic and Kouadio who had just materialized. Mystic didn’t need eyes to fly straight to Erica’s forearm and brush against Val’s body. Kouadio landed respectfully on Erica’s shoulder and gave his mate space. Mystic made a sound that sounded like a whimper and tried to push between Erica and Val so hard to get close to them, it was almost uncomfortable.
“Did she teleport you two here? How did you get here?” asked Erica. She still half-expected Val to appear from around the corner, energetic and loud and beautiful, like she had always been.
Then suddenly, Erica felt the sensation of a teleportation and they were back in Ditto Town. It couldn’t have been long after the explosion. Smoke still hung in the air and stung Erica’s eyes and nose. “How did you do that?” Erica asked again. Mystic raised her head and stared with blind eyes, twittering, but while Erica had almost always understood Val, complicated explanations of how powers passed between twin fairy dragons upon one sister’s death was beyond her understanding. Erica just shook her head and felt old. But at least she was back in Ditto Town. Maybe there was some good in this evil world.
At that moment, the smoke blew in a different direction with the wind, and Erica saw that she wasn’t far from other people. And one of them had a knife… and he was holding that knife up to her brother’s throat.
****************
Erica woke up with an effort. It seemed to take a long time for her to break free from the nightmare that she’d been having. Except it wasn’t a nightmare. Eric was really dead. And… that’s right, Erica was back on earth. Val had teleported them both for some reason and that act, that the little dragon had done seamlessly a hundred times before, had felt all wrong.
“Okay, we have to get back. I’m running from my fears… or something. Val?” The room was quiet and very dark since Alex always relied on heavy shades to hide his secrets. Her ears still rung a little from the deafening sound she’d heard almost the same instant she’d found herself in Los Angeles. Erica made her way towards the light switch and managed to turn it on. The light finally went on, and a split second later, Erica thought she heard a voice somewhere behind her, but after a moment, she realized she must have imagined it.
“Val, where are you?” Oh, there she was, still curled up tightly at the head of the bed. Erica walked over to her and picked the little dragon up. She let out a scream and dropped the body. It was cold and stiff. Val didn’t bend or shift in Erica’s hands. She was like a snake… except even snakes’ bodies didn’t lie upside down in the same position like that on the bed.
Erica touched her friend again with shaking hands and righted her. “No, no, come on Val! Don’t, don’t, come on! Please don’t do this to me.” I’m having a meltdown, or a dream, Erica thought to herself. If I just stay calm it will be all right. It’s going to be fine. Val’s fine too.
The thread of her thoughts repeated for a long time, but nothing changed. Val didn’t move. Erica picked her up and held her close, trying to return warmth to the cold body that no longer needed it. The door creaked behind her. Erica whirled around. There was a woman standing in the doorway with two fairy dragons on her shoulders.
“There you are,” she said threateningly, stepping into the room. “Don’t scream again, or I’ll have to take certain actions.” Her accent was very English.
Erica’s mind was a fog.
“I talked to you on the phone,” she said after a moment.
“You told me Alex was dead, and your fairy dragon appears to be dead as well. What is going on?”
The woman crossed the small room in a few strides. She was a lot taller and older than Erica. Her fairy dragons were also frightening. One of them was thin and had an obviously crooked spine, and it was an uncomfortable sensation to look directly into its large eyes. The other fairy dragon was huge for its kind, and his blood red wings were actually more like a bat’s than a bugs… he had them spread aggressively and hissed noisily at Erica.
Erica scrambled to remember the question she'd been asked. “I… I don’t… don’t say that!” she finished lamely.
“Right, calm down. I’m a friend,” said the imposing English woman. I want to help. Where did your fairy dragon last teleport from? Was it from where Alex died?”
“I… well, he’s not… I don’t...”
“Vanchling, do it.” It was clearly a command. Before Erica could even think, the large dragon jumped the distance between his mistress and her arms and clamped down on the back of Val’s neck.
“NO! NO, get off of her! Don’t TOUCH her!” Erica screamed, trying pry the creature off and getting scratched for her efforts. The woman grabbed Erica’s arm, and the next thing Erica knew, she was in Ditto Town. It couldn’t have been long after the explosion. Smoke still hung in the air and the distant noise of people.
“What’s going on, where is this Vanch?” asked the other woman in confusion, pulling away from Erica. The other fairy dragon let go and flapped back over to her shoulder.
Erica held her friend’s body close and realized she was crying again. At least that horrible fairy dragon had gotten them back to Ditto Town. Maybe there was some order in this chaotic world.
At that moment, the smoke blew in a different direction with the wind, and Erica saw that she wasn’t far from other people. And one of them had a knife… and he was holding that knife up to her brother’s throat.