Scorched (12 page)

Trinity jerked up in bed, a sharp pain slamming through her with a force that almost knocked her back to her pillow. She looked around, rubbing her temples, trying to gain her bearings. She was no longer in the motel room with Caleb, but some kind of large dormitory, with rows of bunk beds lining the walls. A military base perhaps? But no, the others sleeping around her definitely didn’t look like any soldiers she’d ever seen. The woman in the next bunk had to be eighty years old.

No! Please! Please stop!

She startled, recognizing the voice.

Emmy?

Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. This was another vision, like the one Connor had sent her of the Scorch. She let out a breath. At least this time she hadn’t been dropped into the middle of an inferno.

Sliding her feet out of bed and onto the cement floor, she rose silently, careful not to wake anyone around her. She could feel herself being drawn toward the door at the end of the room and decided not to resist the urge. After all, Caleb had sent her here for a reason. He had something for her to see. And she needed to see it, whatever it might be.

“Show me what you will,” she murmured, surrendering herself to the vision.

Her feet led her through the door, down a dark hallway, around a bend, and out of the dormitory altogether. Stepping into the warm summer night, she realized she was in some kind of military compound after all, with clusters of dark gray buildings surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. All the structures looked exactly the same, but at the same time, she somehow knew exactly which one she was looking for.

When she reached her destination, she found herself pulling out a set of silver keys she didn’t know were in her pocket, slipping one into a metal lock, turning it, and pulling open the heavy door. Without pausing, she slipped into the building, wondering what she would find.

At first she thought she’d entered some kind of prison. But then she realized it was more like an animal testing site, with rows upon rows of multilevel cages, rising high to the ceiling and filled with apes and monkeys and gorillas and…

…a dragon.

She squinted down the rows. Sure enough, there was Emmy herself, standing in the very last cell. The dragon looked a lot different than she had in Trinity’s previous vision. There, she’d boasted brilliant, almost blinding emerald scales, sparkling in the sunlight like precious jewels. Here, those shining scales had paled to a dull brown, so faded they appeared almost translucent.

Still, there was no mistaking it. It was Emmy. The dragon from the egg.

She started toward the dragon but stopped short, realizing Emmy wasn’t alone. A scruffy, older man dressed in filthy coveralls was lugging a large hose in the dragon’s direction. Trin watched from a distance, unseen, as Emmy shrank back in her cage, her eyes bulging with fear. The man gave a cruel laugh.

“Sorry, dragon,” he chortled. “It’s bath time.” He turned on the hose, full force, shooting Emmy square in the chest. Emmy fell backward from the force of the water, her fear and panic engulfing Trinity as if it were her own. As the high-pressure blast slapped against an open sore on the dragon’s left flank, Emmy bellowed in pain. Desperate, she lifted her mighty head, her massive jaws creaking open, preparing to unleash her fury on her captor. Trinity watched, almost rooting for the dragon as she waited for the fire to come.

But to her surprise, no flames shot from the dragon’s mouth—only a sputter of spark and the most pitiful puff of smoke. Emmy closed her mouth, looking confused. The man laughed again.

“Good try,” he snorted. “But your fire-breathing days are long over.”

Emmy’s face fell and she resignedly put up with the rest of the bath. Finally, the man turned off the hose and grabbed a mop, attached to a long pole. He stuck the mop into the cage, in a rough attempt to rub the dragon down. In response, Emmy turned her head, grabbing the mop in her teeth and playfully tossing it to the back of her cage. The dragon looked so proud of herself that Trinity wanted to laugh. The poor beast might have been robbed of her fire and dignity, but she wasn’t entirely helpless.

Sadly, the man didn’t find the scenario so amusing. “That’s it!” he declared, stalking over to a nearby wall and grabbing the hugest electric cattle prod Trinity had ever seen off a hook before heading back to the dragon. “You will behave,” he declared, jabbing Emmy in the neck with the prod. “If it’s the last thing you do!”

Emmy let out a bloodcurdling scream and Trinity was sent reeling as echoes of the dragon’s pain rocked her to her core. But the man refused to stop, jabbing the poor beast over and over again, electricity crackling from the stick and through the dragon’s trembling frame until Emmy finally collapsed, her body convulsing and her mouth foaming.

“Emmy!” Trinity cried in horror, involuntarily giving herself away. The man whirled around, his eyes locking upon her. Uh-oh.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” he demanded, stalking over to her, still gripping his electric prod. Trinity took a hesitant step back, then forced herself to stand her ground.

“Leave her alone!” she found herself saying. “You’re hurting her!”

“So what?” the man shot back. “In two weeks she’s going to be monkey meat.” He glared back at the dragon, who was still writhing in her cage in agony. “And good riddance too. She’s been nothing but trouble since she hatched from that stupid egg.”

Please. Trinity. Help me.

Fury overcame Trinity—fury at the coldhearted man for abusing this poor, helpless beast; at this compound—whatever it was—for caging her in the first place. On impulse, she charged the man, shoving him with all her might. He stumbled and fell onto the concrete floor, screaming in anger. Trinity lunged again, this time grabbing his cattle prod.

“Get the hell out of here,” she growled. “Or I’ll stick this thing so far up your ass…”

The man’s face went white and he lost his confident swagger as he scrambled to his feet, not taking his eyes off the prod. “Give that back,” he tried in a trembling voice.

“Not likely.”

“You don’t know what that thing can do. There’s enough electricity in there to kill a man.”

“Then I suggest you get moving if you want to live till morning.”

The man rolled his eyes, disgusted. “You just wait until your supervisor hears about this. You’ll be fired for sure.” He turned and fled, the exit door clanking loudly behind him. The primates in the other cages whooped and cheered for their newfound hero. The sound was nearly overwhelming.

But Trinity only had eyes for Emmy. Setting down the prod, she approached the dragon’s cage slowly, peering inside. At first she worried the dragon might already be dead, but then she caught Emmy’s ribcage heaving up and down with effort. Trin let out a sigh of relief.

She scanned the creature; from this close proximity, she could see that the dragon was missing a whole section of scales, as if they’d been ripped from her body one by one. Her right wing was misshapen—broken and not set properly, maybe in an effort to keep her from flying. Under the wing, several ugly welts and burn marks marred the dragon’s flanks, some festering and crusted with oozing, yellow pus. And the spot under her neck where the man had poked her was still smoking.

Trinity’s heart wrenched and it was all she could do not to throw up then and there. This beautiful creature…so abused. But she forced herself to stay strong.

“Are you okay?” she asked Emmy, daring to reach through the cage’s bars to stroke the dragon’s long nose. She knew it was probably a good way to get one’s hand bitten off, but somehow she knew Emmy wouldn’t harm her.

Sure enough, the dragon nuzzled her giant head against Trinity’s hand, her whiskers tickling Trin’s sensitive skin. The dragon opened her large, liquid eyes, staring up at her savior with such gratitude it made her want to cry. She observed, sadly, how Emmy’s once brilliant blue eyes had faded to a dismal gray.

My
thanks, Fire Kissed,
Emmy whispered in her mind, her voice weary and broken.

“Who was that?” Trinity demanded, glancing back at the door, praying the man wouldn’t reemerge. She couldn’t stay long. He might return with backup. Still, she had to make sure Emmy was okay first.

Just
a
man
assigned
to
care
for
me. He’s worse than some, but not as bad as others.

Trinity shuddered at the idea that there could be worse. “But why?” she asked. “I mean, how could anyone do this to you?”

She tried to remember the other vision—the city engulfed by flames—but instead all she could see was this one gentle giant before her and her great suffering at the hands of mankind. Was this why the dragons rose up and destroyed the world? Was it merely an act of survival?

I
do
not
know,
Emmy whispered in her mind. With great effort, the dragon managed to right herself, letting out a long, surrendering sigh. Then she met Trinity’s eyes with her own.
But
I
need
your
help.

Trinity found herself nodding. Of course. At that moment, lost in the dragon’s beseeching eyes, she would have done anything she’d asked. “What can I do?”

My
time
grows
short,
but
my
children…they still have a chance to live.

“Children?” Trinity cocked her head in question. “You have children?”

A shadow of confusion passed over the dragon’s face.
I
have
not
laid
any
eggs,
she admitted.
And
I’ve never seen their faces. But I can hear them call to me all the same. My children are here. Somewhere nearby and still unscarred. They still have a chance to fly free.

Trinity remembered what Connor had told her. The government had cloned Emmy. They’d taken her DNA and created a whole race of dragons. That’s why they didn’t care about Emmy’s condition. She was nothing more than a tissue sample, to be used and discarded. The keeper’s words came rushing back to her.

In
two
weeks, she’ll be monkey meat.

Trinity gritted her teeth, squaring her shoulders. She wouldn’t let that happen—couldn’t let that happen. Not to this poor beast who had suffered so greatly, who was willing to sacrifice her own life to save her children.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” she declared, giving Emmy her most confident look. “You
and
your children. You won’t die in here, Emmy. If it’s the last thing I do, I will set you free.”

The scene faded and, once again, Trinity found herself in the motel room with Caleb, the egg still cradled in her lap as tears streamed down her cheeks. Caleb reached out and stroked her hand gently. She didn’t pull away.

“That night, you went online,” he told her, “you emailed everyone you could. The most passionate, the most militant, the most dedicated animal rights’ activists out there—you told them of Emmy’s plight and asked for their help. Of course they were more than willing to join up. After that, it was just a matter of breaking into the facility and freeing Emmy and her offspring.”

Trinity drew in a breath. Before now, she couldn’t have fathomed why anyone would want to unleash a pride of dragons on the world. But after seeing Emmy’s suffering…

“What did we plan to do with them?” she asked. “I mean, they’re not exactly stray pets, ready to find forever homes once they’re out and about.”

“The history texts are vague on that account,” Caleb admitted. “But I’m sure you had something in mind. Or maybe you didn’t—maybe you were only focused on setting Emmy free. All I know is, as I said earlier, your heart was in the right place.”

Trinity frowned at that. “Yeah, I’m sure that made people feel a hell of a lot better once the dragons started chowing down on their children,” she retorted bitterly. “I mean, sure, we miss little Lucy, not to mention the entire planet’s infrastructure, but hey, at least that chick’s heart was in the right place.”

Caleb gave her a wry look. “Seriously, don’t beat yourself up. At the time, you had no way of knowing the fifteen baby dragons you rescued alongside Emmy had been genetically altered.”

“Altered?” She cocked her head in question.

“Their technology wasn’t as good back then as it is in my time,” Caleb explained. “They had to combine Emmy’s DNA with some other lizards—nasty, violent things. And then, to keep them alive once they were born, they pumped them full of steroids.” He shrugged. “Some historians will tell you their goal was to turn them into weapons. And, well, weapons they became, breaking free of their Dracken rescuers and flying wild.” He gave her a rueful look. “You can probably guess the rest.”

“The Scorch,” she said in a dead voice. “The end of the world. All thanks to me. Wow. That’s going to look awesome on my college application.”

“Actually it won’t,” Caleb contradicted. “Because it’s not going to happen this time around. Don’t you get it? That’s why we’ve come back. We’re going to change things. We’re going to get that happily ever after—for both the human race and the dragons themselves.” He beamed widely.

She stared at him. “Are you stupid or just utterly insane?”

His smile faded. “What do you mean?”

“Um, gee, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you seem to think bringing dragons back into the world is a good thing? I mean, hello? Fire and brimstone? Worldwide apocalypse? Didn’t you guys learn
anything
the first time around?”

“Yes! We did. We learned tons,” Caleb replied eagerly. “Don’t you see? That’s why we decided to come back and do it all over again. This time
we
have control of the dragon, not the government. Those mutated dragons will never be born. Instead, we’ll just breed more Emmys. Sweet, gentle creatures, with gifts to help mankind.”

Trinity gave him a skeptical look. “Gifts? What, like helping Boy Scouts cheat on their campfire merit badges?”

“Try curing cancer,” Caleb shot back, “eradicating diabetes, wiping out AIDS. Dragon blood has almost magical healing properties,” he informed her. “Not to mention the creatures are pretty much unsurpassed at sniffing out natural resources buried deep in the ground. Oil, precious metals, water, new food sources—the types of materials we need for continued survival on this planet—dragons can help us excavate them all.”

He sounded like he was quoting from a press release. “Okay, fine. Say that’s true. What do the dragons get out of the deal?” she asked. “I mean, seeing as they’re basically being volunteered to dedicate their lives to save the human race and all?”

“Everything,” Caleb declared staunchly. “They’ll be treated like royalty—given food to eat, space to fly. They’ll be protected, honored, worshipped around the world.” He paused, then added, “And most importantly, they won’t be dead. Which, you know, is kind of the biggest thing, if you think about it.”

He met her gaze, as if daring her to argue with his logic. When she didn’t immediately reply, he continued, “We’ve done our calculations, Trin. We need dragons as much as they need us. Without them, very soon
we’re
going to be the ones on the endangered species list.” He squeezed his hands into fists. “I, for one, am not willing to let that happen.”

Trin didn’t know what to say. “You really believe this?” she found herself asking. “You really, truly believe that this dragon egg here has the power to save us all?”

Caleb gave a fierce nod. “
Everything
depends on her survival.”